Mikel Arteta says that Arsenal 100% could not put out a team for last Sunday’s North London derby, insisting that the club played within the rules by applying for a postponement.
He also raised an eyebrow at some of the media coverage, citing the early games of the season when the Gunners had Covid cases, and made it clear that at no time did the Gunners raise any questions about other games which were called off – including the Wolves game which was supposed to take place over the festive period.
Asked about the postponement, and Sp*rs somewhat surly reaction to it, Arteta said, “We didn’t have the players necessary to put a squad available to compete in a Premier League match – that is 100% guaranteed.
“But this situation is, I think, a no-win situation. When we played the first three games of the season, while other teams were postponing matches, and we played and we tried to play, we were killed because you said ‘Don’t be naive, because you have that many players out, don’t play with your kids’.
“And now we postponed the match for all the right reasons, believe me.”
He was then asked if he understood confusion over the game being called off because of a low number of Covid cases, he replied, “I don’t know if I understand. I’m telling you what we’ve done.
“When a team has come to us and said ‘We cannot play, and these are the reasons why we cannot play’ and the game has been postponed, we have never, ever publicly questioned any of that.
“And we will not because that’s why we have the Premier League and the FA and the regulators to consider and to find out and to do the due diligence necessary – which is a lot – to postpone a match to try to maintain the defence of the competition.
“We played against Forest when we had 10 players out. And we tried to play, and we tred to play the next game and the next game.
“We went to Liverpool and we played and we had many players out. After that we got to a point where we could not put a squad available – as the numbers required in this league – to play again, that’s why we didn’t play as simple as that.
“I just go back to the facts, we have played with Academy players. And we have played with 18/19 years old players, when we already have the youngest squad in this league.”
As for accusations and insinuations that the Arsenal had cheated, the boss was having none of it.
“We will defend our club with teeth and nails,” he said.
“We’re not going to get anybody damaging our our name or trying to lie about things that they haven’t occurred. If we make mistakes, we’ll put our hand up, but we will defend our club in a really strong way.”
It was a strong press conference showing from the manager, let’s hope the team can match that against the Mugsmashers tomorrow.
I like everything he said.
The only thing I think he could have added (and he may have done when the full transcript is released), is about our tranasparency and the lack of it from others. The reason everyone knew that covid was relatively low on the list of reasons for our player unavailability, was we were open with this information. Burnely for example have had to postpone a number of games (not picking on them – just using them as an example), and it was a more opaque ‘injuries and covid cases’ that was referred to in the press.
Actually, I wish he’d also highlighted the inconsistency from Monday’s outraged headlines pointing out that we had just posponed a game and then were releasing/loaning another player, when Burnley recently sold Wood and… then had to postpone a game. (Sorry, really not trying to pick on Burnley!)
Double standards from the media, you kinda expect it from rival supporters, but the media have a responsibility to provide accurate and measured reports – at least they should do!!
Is that what they are supposed to do?
I don’t think they got the memo… and that’s for more than just football
Pick on them all you like, they are a bunch of redneck ogre cunts and I hope we absoluyely destroy them on Sunday
That should put all the loud mouths where they belong. I particularly like the subtle but sharp rebuke of Sp*rs and Conte.
That statement of theirs makes me laugh. No other team, that I can recall, have released statements when opponents have postponed games, what makes Spurs think they’re special?
Mourinho maybe? (soon to be sacked again, this time by Roma)
Actual answer – They are not special and they never have been more than overhyped dross.
Hopefully Mourinho lasts into next season, could well mean we get a decent fee for both xhaka and amn.
Folk have been asking that for as long as theres been a spurs
They are special!
Especially good at getting battered everywhere they go!
They think they are special…
But…
What do we think of Tottenham?
They clearly do… had games called off thenselves, yes because of covid, but i dont quite get why people argue that is treated as the lone sacrosanct reason. Yes theres a degree of fate in getting the virus, but what is to say spuds were on top of their protocols. In all likeliness, to have so many players missing that they could not field a squad, they probably were not. But yes lets penalise the clubs who managed the situation better so that outbreaks amongst the entire group at any period were kept to a minimum. Heres hoping for a… Read more »
He’s got it absolutely spot on
Yes, but it must have been so tempting to dump Liverpool – and Klopp – in it.
I still cannot believe the contrast in reaction our postponement got, compared to that of Liverpool just days earlier.
We were completely honest and transparent, while they literally LIED about covid test results and got away completely scot-free. People are dying and they conveniently produce a 100000000/1 set of tests. One hundred million to one. That is the odds of those false-positives.
I mean, Jesus f christ.
Ps fcuk you carragher and ‘gnev2’ – you twst
I wish the odds were that low. 99.97% chance for one false positive. That’s 3/10000. 1/ 3333. That scaled by – at a low estimate – the 6 fakes they produced. And you get a number in the billions / 1 already. It’s actually shocking how double these double standards are. The hypocrisy of the main-stream media is an absolute joke. Not only do they gloss over this, they also gloss over the fact Liverpool had a completely full squad a few days later for our first-leg. People are cheating in plain sight and yet we’re the ones who take… Read more »
Well fucking said!
Did he get asked about any potential incomings by any chance (not that he’d give anything away)?
Not really – a small bit in the embargo section which drops at 10.30 this evening, but no specifics.
“We’ll defend the club with teeth and claws”
In other news, Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Luis Suarez on a six month loan deal.
haha.
I like this manager.
He would make me want to fight for him.
Hopefully the boys have seen all the headlines & lies written over the weekend & Mikel & his team have drilled an ‘Us against Them’ siege mentality into them. Nobody likes us, we don’t care
I think that will be the case. Also the fans who’ve been great this season will certainly make it known that they’re behind the team.
The Emirates will be on fire tomorrow evening
He said just enough to defend the club and without stoking any further fires around the inconsistency of the ridiculous “outrage”.. If he had mentioned Burnley or any other club by name, he’d be accused of hypocrisy. He’s handled it very well… tooth and nail!
One thing that hasn’t been picked up on as for as i can see is that the Premier League’s 13 player rule is actually an incentive to cull all the sub-standard players from your squad.
Why should Arsenal risk having to play with Mari and Kolasinac when you can get rid of them have the game postponed and rescheduled when you’re first choice players are back? It’s a major flaw in the rule.
Let’s just hope that this windows outgoings are matched with some quality incomings.
This is a leader. Unafraid to call out b.s. while clarifying his club’s position. Very, very impressive.
I am absolutely dumbfounded by BBC’s coverage of Arsenal postponing the NLD. Even in todays recent article about the Premier league looking to change the guidance in how games are postponed, the article specifically highlights this is in light of Arsenal postponing the game. What about all the other games that have been postponed and Liverpool’s false positive cases? And how about how ambiguous other clubs have been about reasons for postponement compared to Arsenal who have been totally upfront about our reasons for postponement. Fuck the BBC and Match of the Days coverage of Arsenal games in recent seasons… Read more »
I would love to know, but am too lazy to find out, if any club has been within the current rules and not asked for a postponement
Probably Man City.one might imagine becausr they do have two firat teams…
And referees in their pocket just in case the players fail
Every time I listen to, or read about his press conferences, and as the style of play improves more and more as the team develops under him, that Arteta embodies the best qualities of G.G. and A.W. and that he is a credit to the club,
He really has learnt from some of the best in the business for tsuch situations and like it or not I would include David Moyes from whom i think he gets some of his harder edge.
With teeth and with nails
With teeth and with naaaaiiiilllls
We’ll defend our club
With teeth and with nails